Iraqi politicians and activists are discussing the possibility of forming a “national salvation government,” following a July 24 suggestion by Fakhri Kareem, an influential politician and prominent journalist. The deteriorating security situation and muddled politics led Kareem to do what some other decision-makers have previously done in making the call.

Kareem had been a leftist opponent of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, and after 2003 became one of Iraq’s most prominent politicians. Since 2008, he has acted as a political alliance maker in the formation of Iraqi governments through his ties to leaders of prominent coalitions. Kareem is also influential in part because of his ties to leaders in the Kurdistan region, maintaining strong relationships with Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government, in addition to ties with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He used his connections in the Arab world and the region to play a leading role in helping Maliki’s government out of crisis following the 2010 elections.

Kareem stated in an open letter to Iraqi politicians, “If Prime Minister Maliki continues to neglect the life of the citizens, he will be left with no choice but to announce his full readiness [to] form a national salvation government and call for genuine national reconciliation.”

Observers of the Iraqi scene believe that the ongoing political and security tensions are leading the nation toward a dead end. Iraqis are concerned and pessimistic about the future of their country. The mood has not been helped by the raid conducted by armed members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that freed 1,000 prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison, including leading members of the extremist organization.